April 25 (Bloomberg) -- The New York Yankees got bad news
on two starting pitchers yesterday, though there was little
surprise in either case.

Michael Pineda was suspended 10 games by Major League
Baseball for having pine tar on his neck two nights ago against
the Boston Red Sox. Ivan Nova, like Pineda a right-hander, will
have elbow surgery and miss the rest of the 2014 season.

Pineda, 25, was ejected from the game during the second
inning after the Red Sox asked home plate umpire Gerry Davis to
inspect a dark patch on the pitcher’s neck.

While hitters can use pine tar on bat handles to keep it
from slipping out of their hands, pitchers are prohibited from
using any foreign substance on the ball. Major League Baseball
said Pineda was disciplined for “possessing a foreign substance
on his person.” Pineda told reporters last night that he will
not appeal the ban, which began immediately.

The Yankees announced last night that Nova, 27, decided to
have so-called Tommy John surgery on April 29. Surgery was
recommended after a partial ligament tear was discovered in his
pitching elbow. Recovery time is usually 12 to 18 months.

“I think it’s the right decision,” manager Joe Girardi
told reporters in Boston before the Yankees’ 14-5 defeat of the
Red Sox. “I haven’t really seen anyone rehab a partially torn
ligament and have success. It seems what it does is just delay
the inevitable of what’s going to happen.”